Three years, 10 months and 11 days later, they were still chasing that feeling — a feeling that burned even stronger after the Cadets sent them home in the WCAC semifinals last fall and in the championship game the year before; a feeling that was particularly intense for Moore, who dubbed No. 4 St. John’s (3-3) the Falcons’ fiercest rival but was sidelined after hyperextending his knee just two plays into the game; and a feeling that the No. 2 Falcons (5-1) want to hold on to as they opened WCAC upper-division play on the road by running up the score.

“This was a statement game — let the WCAC know we’re not here to play,” four-star senior linebacker Aaron Chiles said. “If we don’t get it done this year, it’s a bust.”

By all accounts, the game featured the two favorites in the area’s top conference. Good Counsel, with its loaded senior class, began the year as The Washington Post’s top-ranked squad. St. John’s, title-winners in 2021 and 2022, seemed to have discovered the recipe for November excellence under Coach Pat Ward.

Football Top 20: Gonzaga and Wise rise as conference play arrives

Neither came into Saturday afternoon with much in the way of weaknesses. The first half seemed dictated by intangibles (in the form of penalties and red-zone efficiency) and line play. Early on, the Cadets took the advantage in each facet: Their swarming defensive line was nasty, Good Counsel racked up penalties, and they contained the Falcons’ first red-zone appearance with an interception in the end zone.

But the Falcons swiftly alleviated those issues, knotting the score at the end of the first quarter with a 70-yard touchdown pass to junior DaMarion Fowlkes. Following a red-zone interception of their own, they scored on senior Dilin Jones’s three-yard touchdown rush just before halftime to take a one-score lead.

High school sports scores

“I told them all week the more disciplined team was going to win,” Good Counsel Coach Andy Stefanelli said. “Hopefully, today was a turning point.”

A second-half drubbing didn’t surprise Stefanelli, who dubbed these Falcons perhaps the most talented and intelligent group in recent memory. That manifested on the offensive side as Fowlkes hauled in his second touchdown reception to build a three-score lead, and the defensive side, where they tallied three turnovers, blocked a field goal and silenced the St. John’s offense, which labored with junior quarterback Isaiah French out (concussion) and senior running back Da’Jaun Riggs under center.

“We’re just having fun out there,” Falcons senior quarterback Frankie Weaver said.